76 replies to this topic

[Anna J]

Dear friends,

As you may have noticed, ArtsandFaith.com went down for several hours yesterday.

In fixing the issue, our current host, Invision, noted one of the reasons why.

In short, we have grown too large, and our current hosting package cannot sustain our number of posts (over 200,000).

On top of that, we need to upgrade to v. 3.2.2.

Invision tells us this new package will cost $119.99 per month, which is a 400% increase over what IMAGE has been paying to host ArtsandFaith.com.

We will make every effort to preserve the history of this board – there are posts here going back to 2003, I think. But we need your help. If we stick with Invision, there is a $1000 gap that needs filling every year.

We have a monthly donation section in our online store – if the top 25 posters were to donate just $5 per month, that would cover the gap.

Of course, if anyone knows of any comparable service that would be considerably cheaper than $119.99/month, we’d love to hear about it. We are not very knowledgeable when it comes to choosing forum types and hosting, so we welcome your suggestions and wisdom.

Invision will keep our site up as is until the end of the month (which is this Friday) so we need to make a decision by then.

Please help!

Thanks,

Anna

[Ryan H.]

Wow. Quite a sticky situation. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd be happy to donate to keep A&F active. This corner of the internet is very important to me.

Edited by Ryan H., 26 September 2011 - 02:38 PM.

[Jason Panella]

What Ryan said. It's gotten to the point where I my wife knows various A&F folks by name without having ever met them.

[Andrew]

I'll gladly chip in $5 per month - I'll sign on the dotted line as soon as a decision has been reached as to whether we're staying with Invision or migrating elsewhere.

Edited by Andrew, 26 September 2011 - 10:24 PM.

[SDG]

You can count on me to kick in.

[Overstreet]

I'll pitch in too as much as I can manage. But only if you can promise me the name won't change to Arts&Faithster.

Edited by Overstreet, 26 September 2011 - 11:22 PM.

[opus]

How about Arts&Faithbook? Arts&Faithspace? Arts&Faith Plus?

[Darrel Manson]

Perhaps we need to spin it off into separate boards, one for arts and one for faith.

[Overstreet]

opus, on 27 September 2011 - 09:58 AM, said:

How about Arts&Faithbook? Arts&Faithspace? Arts&Faith Plus?

Wow. Seeing those names, Jason, makes me marvel that we don't already have something called Faithbook.

Oh, wait. I... spoke too soon, I guess...

Edited by Overstreet, 27 September 2011 - 10:30 AM.

[David Smedberg]

Darrel Manson, on 27 September 2011 - 10:14 AM, said:

Perhaps we need to spin it off into separate boards, one for arts and one for faith.

Faithflix, and Quikart.

PS I'll donate.

Edited by David Smedberg, 27 September 2011 - 10:31 AM.

[J.A.A. Purves]

David Smedberg, on 27 September 2011 - 10:29 AM, said:

I'll donate.

Ditto.

[Christian]

I'd be willing to pitch in, although those of us who gave a "lifetime membership" donation under the previous administration wonder if we made a mistake.

For the record, if I give, it'll be a one-shot deal. Monthly plans don't really work for me.

[opus]

Overstreet, on 27 September 2011 - 10:28 AM, said:

opus, on 27 September 2011 - 09:58 AM, said:

How about Arts&Faithbook? Arts&Faithspace? Arts&Faith Plus?

Wow. Seeing those names, Jason, makes me marvel that we don't already have something called Faithbook.

Oh, wait. I... spoke too soon, I guess...

Those will sit quite nicely alongside Christianchirp and GodTube.

Edited by opus, 27 September 2011 - 11:54 AM.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Five bucks a month? Sure.

Name one of the forums after me, and I'll make it ten.

[Andrew]

Peter T Chattaway, on 27 September 2011 - 12:20 PM, said:

Five bucks a month? Sure.

Name one of the forums after me, and I'll make it ten.

Hmm, the "Peter T Chattaway 'Ahem' Forum," perhaps?

[Buckeye Jones]

Happy to help with a contribution.

[Crow]

I can pitch in as well.

[Anders]

I just pitched in. Hope it helps.

[SDG]

opus, on 27 September 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

Christianchirp

"The Christian Alternative to Twitter™"

Why?

Why?

Why?

("GodTube" I can actually understand.)

[M. Leary]

I would gladly chip in. Though I want a custom PTC "Ahem" emoticon to be created in return.